To all my friends,

Nora's Potato Candy

1/3 c cold mashed potatoes (no seasoning just the potato)

2 c   confectioner sugar

2 c   chopped shredded coconut

1/4 t salt

3/4 t  clear vanilla

2 squares baking chocolate

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate

Let mixture stand 10 min.

Form small balls

Let stand 20 min to get dry enough to dip

Dip base of ball into melted chocolate

Place on wax paper until chocolate hardens

Enjoy!

December Meeting photos

The photos from the December meeting have been uploaded to our Flickr account.  Here's a slideshow of the photos including the veteran's quilts and show and tell.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Double Wedding Ring - close-up

Here's a close-up of the Double Wedding ring quilt made by Annie (our Vashon Island, WA member). Annie did a fine job of piecing it and sent it to Terri Watson for machine quilting. Once Annie had done the binding, she sent it to CSQ to be given to a veteran. This quilt may have as many air miles as it does yards of quilting thread. 

See Vicki's earlier post or try this link to see what all Terri is doing:   Terri's blog

Wow, Annie and Terri, it is really a beauty!

Thank you to each and every person who contributed in making the 51 quilts that Betsy and Kitty will deliver on Christmas Eve. In one way or another, each quilt will touch the life of someone else. Our joy has been in the making and giving.

Look what I am giving myself for Christmas. You can still join us.

Carolyn

SEW WHAT?…… is a sewing cruise, it is a quilting cruise…..it is 10 days on board a luxury cruise ship bobbing about in the Caribbean…..it will be SEW WONDERFUL!  No instructors, no classes, no contests, just sewing WHATever you please.    

I have been working with an old friend who happens to be a travel agent.  He is helping me put together the “SEW WHAT?” adventure.  We have pinned down the date, March 18-28, 2014 ….the ship will be Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas and the departure port will be Baltimore (so close!).   On board we will have a conference room that is ours to use anytime during the day or night…we have the key! You may SEW WHATever, whenever!

The ports of call include St. Thomas, St. Maartin, San Juan Puerto Rico and Haiti plus four glorious days at sea… sewing, laughing, sewing.  There will be shore trips offered, or you may stay onboard and SEW WHAT?. Cruise life is easy to love….your days can start with coffee and breakfast delivered to your cabin, or you may go to the main dining room for a fancy breakfast, or to the Windjammer for a more casual, but just as delicious, meal.  Lunch can be in the dining room, the Windjammer buffet or just a snack….from Ben and Jerry’s, perhaps?  Dinner is always gourmet in the main dining room, a great place for us to gather in the evenings to recount our experiences onboard the ship. There is a Day Spa, a fitness center with yoga and aerobics classes, a jogging track, 6 whirlpools and 3 big swimming pools, a shopping area……. shall I go on? At night there are Broadway-type shows, a casino and lounges….so many choices! Or you may SEW WHAT? all day and all night!

You may choose an inside cabin for under $950, an outside cabin for a smidge over $1,000 or a cabin with a balcony for around $1,600….all prices are per person, double occupancy.  The only $$$ that is undetermined at this time (and therefore not included) are the taxes and a possible fuel upcharge. We can travel as a group on a charter bus to Baltimore, cost to be divided among those participating, so add about $100 to cover round trip bus.  We can sew, cruise, sew and have a great time together for 10 glorious days!

If you are interested in the SEW WHAT? cruise, please email me at kikiproost@comcast.net.   Sew What? is limited to 24 persons.  Husbands and non-sewers are welcome to join us and do not count as part of the 24 maximum!

My bags are already packed…..I can’t wait to SEW WHAT?!

Christy Proost

(804) 779-3579 or (804) 314-4441

Information on WHEAT

Through the generosity of our members, Cathy Williams had a car load of food to take to the WHEAT pantry Wednesday. At the meeting she mentioned volunteer opportunities at the pantry and sent the following information along about volunteering:

WHEAT Open Pantry dates are as follows: Jan.14 and 28, Feb. 11 and 25, March 11 and 25, April 8 and 22...and the second and fourth Tuesday from now on. Prep starts at 3:30 PM. (Pantry opens at 5 PM until 7. Most of our neighbors come by 6). You may come as early as 3:30 and leave when you need to. If you want to "run" groceries to the cars, dress warmly. Come to the back doors of Mt. Olivet Church and park. Address is 15583 Coatesville Road Beaverdam, VA 

Sign up is with Missy Stanley at missy.stanley@hotmail.com

For more information visit the WHEAT web site.

Annie's Quilter

The middle quilt in this photo is one of the quilts donated by our West Coast member, Annie. When this one came in we were all impressed with the beautiful quilting. You can't see it in this photo but the white space is filled with beautiful feathers. Annie said that she sent to a quilter in Michigan. I thought it might be a blogger that I follow and I confirmed that today. Terri Watson saw this photo on my blog and commented about the quilt and mentioned that she did indeed quilt it. Terri blogs and quilts at Threadtales. She is a professional machine quilter and always has a pretty quilt to show on her blog.

Recipes

We had a lot of wonderful food at our December meeting.

 

More food arrived after I took these pictures, including a "Dump Cake" hot out of the oven. Inkie made the cake for Dot and shared the recipe with us.


DUMP CAKE

l large can of crushed pineapple and juice
l can of cherry pie filling
l box yellow cake mix
2 cups chopped pecans
2 sticks of butter (melted)

Put in layers, in order given, in greased 9 x l3" baking dish.  Bake at
350 degrees for 30-40 minutes!

********

Cranberry Relish recipe given to me (Becky) by Elsa Brooks, Dec. 2010
1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar (or less to taste)
2 large oranges (seeded), use rind and all
1 large can crushed pineapple
      (Note: navel oranges do not have seeds and that is what I used)

Easy to make:
Combine cranberries and oranges
Run through food processor or grinder
Add sugar, mix well.
Add pineapple, mix well.

Place contents in plastic containers and freeze. Makes 2-1/2 qts.

Great relish for meat, fowl, or bread. Best to let ripen for a day in refrigerator before packing into containers.

Source:  Nashville 200 Years of Hospitality

Notes from Elsa: I used apples instead of oranges. I cored the apples and left the skin on. The relish (made with apples) tastes very similar to the cranberry relish that I have purchased at the Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft, VA.

********

Are there other recipe requests? 

I would like to have the recipe for the delicious little coconut goodies.

Veteran's Quilts!

The meeting was fantastic and it was so exciting to see all of the veteran's quilts arrive. Last year we made 45. This year we made 51! Here are photos of the quilts on display. When I took these photos we still didn't have all of the quilts up. It was an impressive pile of quilts to try to fit into Kitty and Betsy's cars.

Everyone also generously donated a lot of food for WHEAT and $117 that Elsa will take to the Virginia Quilt Museum.

What a wonderfully talented and generous group!

Winter Weather

Western Hanover County is on the edge of a "Winter Weather Advisory" for Tuesday.

CSQ policy is to cancel our quilt meeting if Hanover County Schools are closed or close early.

Please check the local news to check for school closing. 

If Hanover schools are closed on Tuesday or close early we will not have a meeting.

Check the blog for possible re-scheduling if our meeting is canceled.

Reminder

Just a little reminder that our meeting Tuesday night is our pot-luck dinner and we will begin eating at 6:30. Our special guests will be Mary Ann, Vicky, and Randy from Hanover Parks and Recreation. Please greet them and thank them for all they do in providing our wonderful meeting place.

The program portion of our meeting will be a display of all the quilts we've made for veterans this year. Betsy and Kitty will be giving them to veterans at McGuire V.A. hospital in Richmond on Dec. 24.

Extra hands are always welcome, so if you can, please come early (5:30) to help set up quilt frames, hang quilts (bring binder clips) and set up the food tables. 

We will also have our regular "Show & Tell, too. It's going to be a fun evening of friendship, food and quilts.

One, last thing - remember to bring your non-perishable food for the W.H.E.A.T. food pantry!

10 Questions - Cathy Williams

If you are at all active in the club you already know Cathy Williams. She and her husband, Ron, own Williams Bakery and they are very active in the WHEAT Food Pantry. Let's see if you can find out something new about Cathy.

1. If you live in Hanover (or the area), how many generations of your family have lived here and how did they come to settle here? If you moved here, where are you from and what brought you here?

 I have lived in Hanover County for 36 years. My husband was raised in Mechanicsville and I now have a son and granddaughter that live in Mechanicsville. I was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. Obviously, I moved here with my husband of almost 39 years. It is a great place to live and raise a family.  

2. When you were young what did you plan to be when you grew up and what happened with those plans?

 I don’t recall ever thinking about it. I always wanted children and a place to garden and sew. I have all of those things. I am a blessed individual.

3. What are your favorite things to do in the area?

My husband and I enjoy theater, music, surf fishing, gardening and having fun with our church family. We enjoy our adult children and grandchildren and have a lot of fun with them when they visit.

4. What hobbies or activities do you do other than quilting? Where do you do them? How did you get involved with them? If I am not sewing or at church, which is my second home, you will find me in a garden, not particularly my own. I garden at church and lead a community garden effort to feed hungry families in Western Hanover with some of my church friends. The community garden vegetables were delivered to WHEAT’s Open Pantry for distribution. I also can and freeze produce from my garden. I have a jam and jelly business when I get fruit from my garden.

There is a great need for community gardens everywhere. Anyone can provide produce from their garden to help someone who cannot grow crops for whatever reason. It is very important to feed food insecure neighbors good nutritious garden foods.   

5. What’s your favorite vacation spot? Where do you want to go next? We fish a lot in South Hatteras. It is one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  have a dream upon retirement of visiting as many National Parks as possible with the time we have left. Of course, I will take hand work with me.

6. As a child what was your nickname and how did you get it? Do people still call you by that name? My name is Mary Catherine. My mother called me Cathy. I have always been called Cathy.

7. What saying best describes how you like to live your life? Sadly, cautious. I married a very uncautious person. We try to balance each other out. I also like to live my life as a mother and grandmother. I birthed 3 sons and 2 daughters. My husband and I have 9 grandchildren…6 girls and 3 boys. My husband and I are expecting our 10^th grandchild in April. They are all beautiful and wonderful and sooo smart...and I make a lot of quilts for them.   

8. Show us a photo (or photos) of where you create.

Kathy loves her Pfaff sewing machine so much that she bought a spare off eBay in case this one ever dies.

Cathy hand quilted this quilt. When she retired it from her bed she hung it in her sewing room where it inspires her every day.

9. What quilt is your least favorite quilt. Not necessarily the ugliest but the one that you liked the least or struggled with the most or just plain hated making. Why did you choose this one? Do you have a photo of it?

 I do not have a least favorite quilt. I have never met a quilt that I didn’t like. Each is it’s own effort. Anyone that makes a quilt is a very wonderful person and I appreciate each one…quilt and quilt maker.

Cathy is making this landscape I-Spy for one of her granddaughters for Christmas.

10. What is your all time favorite quilt and why? 

I have an antique quilt that my oldest son gave me 2 years ago. He purchased it in an antique store in Philadelphia. He called me and described it to the best of his ability and I told him to get it and I would pay him back. I was so happy he expressed an interest in what I do and love. He later wrapped it in a brown paper bag and gave it to me as a gift. I love it. I put a label on it stating where I had gotten it. It is a traditional log cabin quilt. It’s just great